Suffern Cosmetic Dentist

Most people at some point in their lives develop a cavity in one of their teeth and have to have that cavity cleaned out and filled. When a tooth is infested with decay our Suffern cosmetic dentist, Dr. Baruch B. Lifshitz, DDS will remove the decay and any infection by drilling it out and then fill the cavity to save the tooth and have it function normally again. While the basic procedure has been around for many decades there have been advances in the equipment used for the procedure and in the products used to fill the cavity.

In our Suffern cosmetic dentist practice the most common form of filling for a cavity is the amalgam, which is a mixture of various metals including silver, copper, mercury, tin and sometimes zinc. Amalgams have been used successfully and safely in dentistry for over 100 years. Amalgams are extremely durable and perfect for filling cavities in the back teeth where the chewing pressures are the greatest. Other traditional filling materials include gold, which can stand out and porcelain which is tooth-colored to blend in, both these filings are custom-made in the lab and cover much of the tooth. While amalgam is strong, durable and inexpensive there have been vocal distractors over its use during the recent past. Despite its long history of use and research done on amalgams some patients are wary of the presence of mercury in their mouth, others don’t like the metal look or dark shadow that amalgam sometimes has.

Our Suffern cosmetic dentist also uses composite fillings, which are a mixture of ceramic or glass and plastic resins. These fillings are tooth-colored so they blend in with the tooth and look natural. While composite fillings are very durable they may not be suitable for very large restorations or for use in teeth that are subjected to high chewing pressures. Our practice prefers to use these composite fillings on front teeth. Our practice performs a full range of general, cosmetic and restorative dental services and accepts many insurance plans including those from Metlife Cigna and Guardian. Make an appointment with our office for a checkup and maybe we can prevent the use of any kind of filling material at all.